Stubborn
by 0oxymoronic0
Summary: Itachi was many things, but he wasn't a murderer. My Itachi wasn't a killer. [“You can have me. If it makes you happy, makes you strong, means you’re safe, even when I’m not here, I will die for you. I'm yours.”]ShisuixItachi][oneshot]


**A/N**

**Another Naruto oneshot. I became obsessed with Shisui when I learnt about him… this is something that popped into my head.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**Stubborn**

I glanced across the table at him. His eyes, as usual, were unreadable, his body tense. Too tense. I rolled my eyes, picking up the glass again and scowling at the wall. His face was completely blank.

God, Itachi was so damn _stubborn._

---

I shifted the bag a little higher on my shoulder and called out the name again. "Itachi!" I snapped, but he appeared not to hear me – which was not true, because I knew for a fact he would've heard me from 50 metres away. I let out an exasperated sigh – around Itachi there were quite a few – and launched forwards, eventually managing to catch up with him.

He had wanted me to. He'd always been faster than me, so if he didn't want me here I wouldn't have a chance. When he turned to me, he simply seemed to look at me for a moment before turning around with a monotonous grunt and continuing on. I sighed and hefted the bag up again, hurrying after him. "Did the trip go well? Did you find out about it?" He either had gone deaf in his absence or was decidedly ignoring me. Stupid, stubborn idiot. "The Mangekyo!"

He stopped for a moment, and I bumped into him. When he turned back there was something in his expression I had never, ever seen before. He was _caring _for something. Even I had only ever got blank looks. "I didn't find anything. I don't want to ever hear about it again."

My jaw dropped open slightly. Itachi had devoted the last few months of his life purely on tracking down information about the mysterious power, and now he'd found it he had just abandoned it?! Another sigh. I shrugged the bag a little higher and continued to walk. With Uchiha Itachi, you learnt when to stop.

---

Stupid paperwork. There were another three _identical _applications to fill out, and I had hardly any time to do them. I tried to scribble as fast as I could, but even then I knew I wouldn't make it on time. If Itachi stopped looking out of the window (not watching me, dammit, no matter what my subconscious said) and gave me a hand I might, but Itachi didn't do that. I'd long accepted that.

I risked a glance. Damn, he _was _looking at me. Hard. With Sharingans. Why on earth is he looking at me with Sharingans? Hell, why is he even looking at me at all? Itachi never looks at anyone. Ever. Apart from Sasuke… and that's different. I suppressed another glance, realising that with the thirty seconds I'd just wasted I was definitely not getting this work done.

I sighed and put the pen down, leaning forward with my head in my hands. This wasn't _fair_. Why the hell was I so damn _stubborn_?! He didn't want anything more from me. I wish I could just _accept _that. This was _Itachi_, the silent destroyer who didn't need anyone. Not even his best friend. I was worthless to him. "I did find something," he said quietly, and I jumped at the sound. Itachi's voice was pretty foreign, even to me. "On… on the Mangekyo."

I waited for a reply. "It's bad, isn't it?" I whispered, but he merely bowed his head in response.

"I have to kill someone," he said quietly, and I stared at him. I couldn't help it. Not… not _that_… I couldn't… I wouldn't _let _him… I felt panic beginning to build up. Itachi… Itachi was many things, but he wasn't a murderer. Well, not for his own gain, anyway; I somehow thought that he really hated killing people. My… my Itachi was not a killer. "Don't worry." His voice cut across my teeming mind. "I… I couldn't." His voice… his voice had _broken_. Damn, Itachi, what did that _do _to you?

I looked up at him, and… he was crying. His head was hung, and it was one tear; one tiny little tear, but it was still there. And _Uchiha Itachi was in a room with me, crying_. I sat awkwardly for a moment, before letting my instincts take over and walking over. His hands flew out and clutched at my robes, fisting them and pulling me close. _Itachi was hugging me_. I tried not to think.

I knew, from that moment onwards, that it was over.

---

His chest rose softly, then fell again. Beside him, I was desperately trying to gather breath, hand still coiled around a kunai handle, as I contemplated my next attack. He was staring at me, his Sharingan still activated, and mine were spinning giddily too. Moments passed, a few more. I slumped down on the grass in condescension, and he smiled.

"You are giving up easily today." I glowered at him, not bothering to rise to the jibe. "You spend too much time without rest, Shisui."

I raised an eyebrow, looking mockingly at the bags under his eyes, and he rolled his eyes at me. I frowned. "How do you know I don't sleep well?"

His eyes seemed to flash wide for a moment, but it was probably a trick of the afternoon sun. "You're always exhausted, and you're getting lines. It doesn't take an ANBU to work _that _out," he murmured, and I looked aside. I thought I'd been hiding it… but the thought of Itachi as a murderer had haunted me for longer than I cared to admit.

We watched the ripples move across the lake for a few more moments, and I dipped my hand in, relishing at the coolness against my fingertips. This was the last time I'd feel it, I realised. I turned to him. "The person you have to kill." He glanced at me, his posture… vulnerable? No, only for a fraction of a second… then it was gone, and he was very, _very _angry. I ignored this. "It's not just anyone, is it?"

He blinked slightly, before hanging his head, not managing to meet my gaze. "No," he eventually murmured.

"It's me," I whispered, and he was crying again. I closed my eyes, also wet and rimmed, and took in a deep breath.

"My best… friend. I have to kill my best friend." I let out a little choked sob, and he looked up in alarm as I fell to the floor with a laugh.

"I'm… I'm your best friend?" I gasped, and he looked at me, eyes wide, and nodded. I felt so blissfully happy in that moment. _He thought I was his best friend_. Whatever happened, from this moment onwards, it didn't matter. I was lucky enough to even be his friend. I held my head in my hand and sobbed, his feet landing gently beside me. He stood there, stoic as ever, with two simple teartracks running down his face.

"Shisui…" he murmured, and I knew then that I just couldn't hold back any more.

I shushed him gently, rising and placing a finger on his lips. I wrapped my arms around him, hating how he tensed under my touch. "You can… have me. If it makes you happy, if it makes you strong… if it means you're safe, even when I'm not here, I will die for you." He choked slightly, and I hugged him harder. "I'm yours."

"You don't know what you're saying," he murmured.

I smiled sadly, running a hand idly through a strand of hair. "Oh, Uchiha Itachi, I know very well. I am prepared to die for you, if this is what you want." I leant very far forward, mouth next to his ear, like we did when we were young. Playing games, hide and seek. I'd always lose. "Because… can you keep a secret?" I whispered, as I had a million times before. Itachi was the perfect secret-keeper; he'd never breathe a word. "Because I love you," I whispered, and closed my eyes.

He tensed underneath me, and I waited for the kunai, the shuriken, the blast of power which would mean my death. It didn't come. He simply stood there, with my arms around him, and breathed. And I was so happy to just _be _there with him, that I didn't give a damn. "Shisui…" he eventually breathed, and I placed a finger against his lips again.

"You can have me, goddammit. I hate this life, I hate having to lie to you, and to everyone. And I hate seeing you tormented like this. I know how much the power means to you, and if I can do anything to make you happy, then I will. Like I always have." He flinched slightly, but it was true. No matter what, I'd always given everything to him. For him. Just to be near him. "Dammit, Itachi, don't be so stubborn. _I want this_." I sighed, closing my eyes and burrowed further into his shoulder. "Promise me one thing first…" I murmured.

"Anything."

"Make love to me," I whispered, and he shot back, staring at me intently. "Please." I'd never, _ever _asked him for anything before. It terrified me. "Let me… let me make love to you, before… before…"

"Of course," he murmured, and walked forwards again.

---

Itachi collapsed onto the courtyard, his energy spent. It was finally out; they knew. They all knew. Even if they hadn't figured out who, they knew that he was dead. He wanted to cry, scream, and kill all of them. Eventually, he realised, he'd do all of these. But he couldn't cry, not here, not now, when a million eyes could bore into him and see the Uchiha prodigy's weakness.

Shisui had given up his life to stop such a weakness. He would never let himself forget that sacrifice.

Sasuke was watching him from behind a screen, he realised, but he couldn't stop him. It hurt too much. He needed to get away. With a single movement he hauled himself up and flew towards the lake, and slumped down beside it.

And then, finally, the tears flowed. Then, finally, the Uchiha revealed his greatest weakness.

Then, finally, the Uchiha lost his one salvation.

**A/N**

**Angsty oneshot… yays…**


End file.
